Fortnite players are about to be introduced to the world of KPop in a way that does not involve animated demon hunters. It’s just been announced that Fortnite Festival’s season 12 headliner will be none other than LISA, an artist who has left a sizable portion of players saying, “Who?”
This is, of course, blasphemy to many, KPop fans or just active listeners of the artist, but LISA’s global appeal has not hit segments of the West in particular, and it would seem, a giant chunk of Fortnite fans. I sort of poked fun at this online, but it became clear that truly, hundreds of thousands of players, if not millions, seemed to have no idea who she was.
Thai rapper and singer Lisa, from South Korean group Blackpink, performs during the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Bangkok on December 31, 2024. (Photo by Chanakarn Laosarakham / AFP) (Photo by CHANAKARN LAOSARAKHAM/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
LISA is/was a member of Blackpink, one of the most well-known KPop groups in history, where many of its members have recently spun out into their own solo careers, including her. She is a massive global presence in the music market. Her group, Blackpink, has 26 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Solo, she has 15 million. You can head over to her Instagram as well, where she boasts 106 million followers. A performance of her single, “Money,” has 1.1 billion views on YouTube. You get the idea, she’s a massive global icon, and so Fortnite trying to secure her obviously makes a lot of sense.
There is at least some confusion among fans who have heard of a Lisa, but that would be LiSA, a Japanese singer whose work frequently appears in anime series like Sword Art Online and Demon Slayer. Different Lisa. Remember, LISA, and LiSA. Get it right!
If Western audiences have seen LISA lately, it was likely in The White Lotus, where she played hotel employee Mook in her native country of Thailand. It wasn’t the biggest or best role, but she worked with what she was given in her first acting role.
As a Festival headliner, LISA appears to be coming with a skin, an alt style, other cosmetics and a number of her songs. She joins the list of ten other Festival headliners that include, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Metallica, Karol G, Snoop Dogg, Hatsune Miku, Sabrina Carpenter, Bruno Mars and Gorillaz. She will begin her run on November 29, 2025, though this Festival appearance does not mean she will be an artist who performs an in-game show like we’ve seen from Travis Scott, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Ice Spice and Ariana Grande, among others, in the past.
Update: Here are both of her styles:
Update 2: And a new trailer:
So, that’s LISA, you can check out her songs in the videos above, below and on Spotify.
Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.
Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
